Eye of the Storm
by FanWriterWV
Summary: My idea for Starbuck's possible future. Takes place immediately after Maelstrom. Warning: Includes possible spoilers! Note: El Cajon is a large suburban community in San Diego, California.


_**Eye of the Storm**_

_Fireworks. That's what Kara thought as she watched her Raptor explode. Like the fireworks she'd watched with dad during Colonial Day celebrations a lifetime ago._

_Then it hit her: My Raptor? Did I eject? What the hell is going on? Where the frak is Lee?_

_OK, don't panic. There's gotta be a logical explanation…_

Kara remembered hearing Lee's voice desperately telling her to pull up before she hit the hard deck. "I'm not afraid anymore," she told him. There was Mom, lying in bed, the scrapbook open to old memories.

"I can't believe you kept these."

"Always…"

Then there was the Eye, the one she'd painted on the wall of her apartment. And the light, bringing her in…

Kara was floating…somewhere. It was cool, but not uncomfortably so. She had the sensation that unfamiliar hands were trying to bring her out of it. She saw a face-a face Kara had wanted to forget:

"Caprica?!? That blonde Cylon bitch? What the frak is going on?!?"

Kara had a brief image of the Cylon raider. For a moment she couldn't figure out why it was so goddamn familiar to her. Then she remembered: Scar. The frakking bastard had formed some kind of connection with her before she'd killed him. She was getting that same feeling now.

Lee. She had to stay focused. He was right; if she didn't pull up she'd burn. Kara gripped the ejection handle and prayed to the gods as she was ripped free from the cockpit. The maelstrom roared around her. That was when she saw the Raptor explode in a fireball. And she saw Lee's ship, off in the distance. Kara wanted to get his attention, but then the Light surrounded her.

"Kara? Can you hear me?"

She was in a chamber of some sort. A glowing face hovered over her. She was startled when she recognized who it was.

"Gaeta? What the hell?"

"It's OK, Kara. Don't panic. You're not dead. Just…in between."

"Gaeta, what the frak is going on?"

The being who looked like Gaeta chuckled. "You're going to have to learn to control that temper of yours. Leoben said you were special, remember?"

"Leoben?" Her "Husband" back on New Caprica, who had some kind of a religious fixation on Kara that had something to do with the one god the Cylons claimed they worshipped. Kara stood up, out of the milky white stuff. She was dripping wet, but didn't seem to feel it. "Are you working with him? Are you still working for the Cylons, you treacherous son of a bitch?"

"I was never working 'for' them, Kara. You know that. I'm sorry; I know this must be very confusing for you-it was for me, too-but you've got a mission to fulfill. They don't want you to die a real death, not yet. Believe it or not, they need us."

Kara's eyes narrowed. "Why the frak should I help the Cylons?"

"You're important to them," Gaeta reminded her. "Your child, your future on Galactica…you have a destiny."

In spite of herself, Kara was actually listening to him. "OK. You say I've got this destiny. Everybody thinks I've got something that I don't. You, the frakking Cylons, the Old Man, Lee…" Kara paused. "Oh, my Gods. He thinks I'm dead. I've gotta get back…they'll be looking for me…"

Gaeta smiled sadly at her. "No, they won't. They couldn't find any trace of you. Adama was going to send out search and rescue parties, but it got called off."

"That's not fair!" Kara exploded. "Look, I know I'm frakked up, but they're still my friends, my crewmates."

"A minute ago you were ready to cross over." Gaeta looked at her. "But if I allow that to happen, the Cylons get you. So…which is it?"

Kara looked down. "I want to go back. If the Cylons were trying to trick me somehow, they picked the wrong person to frak with."

"Good. Keep that fighting spirit. You're going to need it for when the time comes. And you're right-it's time to go back-but not to Galactica. Not yet, anyway."

Kara stared at him. "What are you talking about? If I can't get back to Galactica, then how the frak am I supposed to help them?"

Gaeta smiled. "I've got someplace else for you to go, first. Take my hand."

Kara cautiously accepted Gaeta's outstretched hand. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Not me. You." Then he was gone. Kara was surrounded by light again. She felt herself falling. The light turned to an expanse of blue sky that reminded her of Caprica, except that it wasn't. She was lying on green grass. Kara stood up. A flock of birds flew overhead, and something else-some sort of an aircraft that left a contrail. The last time she'd seen something like it had been in the Caprica Museum of Science and Technology. _This isn't Caprica-or anywhere else in the Colonies. _Kara looked towards the South and saw buildings, houses-some sort of a suburban community. _Nope-definitely not the Colonies. Where the frak am I?_

_This is where your journey starts, _a voice in her head told her. She recognized it as Gaeta's, but it didn't sound like a direct communication-more like a recording. Somehow, she felt compelled to listen.

Kara started walking. The sound of ground traffic got louder as she approached a broad highway several lanes in width. The vehicles that were driving down it only vaguely resembled Caprican automobiles. A green sign with words written in a language Kara knew she'd never seen before but somehow understood read: EL CAJON NEXT EXIT.

_Where am I? Oh, my Gods-is this…Earth?_

There was no answer from Gaeta's voice. What the frak, Kara thought. I gotta start somewhere.

If this place was the Thirteenth Colony, then this was where all the answers everybody had been looking for were. Kara began walking towards the community. She didn't look back.


End file.
